Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Friends, I've won couple pro cat four cross races this season.Stefan Rothe has befriended me on a social media site, I'm going to add that to my season results if I ever decide to upgrade. Of course I'm going to sandbag until UCI forces me to cat up as directed by my life coach Pool Side.

The victory ride home from Webberville-X was enhanced by Jamaican Gold, which got a signal boost from KOOP's tower in Hornsby Bend, So I got a few extra miles of good vibrations. My recovery supplements took the edge off some of those vibes. I was in good, deer friends.Here's my bro Coyote Mercury's blog about his birding adventure at some of the ponds that the Bend supports.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Manda is as close to a Belgian day race that there is in Central Texas I suppose. Set in rural, working poor country, settled by Swedish immigrants.

There are long flat stretches along treeless wind swept fields. It's seems to always be windy and overcast.

Generally the race gets strung out as the wind plucks riders off the back like a John Deere combine harvester or something like that, and comes down to a survivors finish. I had the luck to be a survivor and finish in the top 10 this year.

P.S. All the other 2011 spring classix were marred by mediocrity:

Tour of NewBraunfelsSurvived the winds and finished with the selection.AllsatianFormerly a classic road race turned suburban sprawl circuit race.Recklessly lead the charge up the finishing hill. Swallowed by the pack across the linePaceBend/WalburgDid about 5 minutes of each due to injury from improperly carrying heavy objects by bicycle.LaPrimaVeraPack finish both days.FayettevilleSaturday; Pack finish for RoadRace and middle of TT (6.6miles@16:20) sitting top 20 in GC at the end of the day. Following the advise of my director's sportiff's to be more aggressive this season, I cursed the entire field for passing me over the yellow line, while I elbowed my way to the front before the final turn. Sunday; I found myself in a 5 man break for 2 laps with 2 min on the field which eventually caught us and spit me off the back before the finish.ManorWoolly Mammoth and Party Time animated this race. Lots of attacks and a 5th field sprint, 12th overall. The last K's covering the talented Jaime Dayo, who did not disappoint, with a bike throw for 4th. Party Time took the win in a 2 man break ahead of Jaime's 5 men.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Some of you may know Sherief. He's handy at any shanty bike shop teardown function.He's a fine Randoneerman.He' skipping school now to visit his family in Egypt.He's missing some very exciting times in Austin with the weather and things.

That's a black eye to be proud of. Still pretty too. Kinda reminds me of some bike wrecks I've known.

Jenny's slippery train tracks. Man, was that one hard to watch unfold.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

This remix pretty much sums up my feelings on the Kraut Town Road Race. (Listen to it while you read for full experience.)

Patricio was in the form you want to be in for an early 2 man break after the KOM hill. I was just behind them in no mans land for a spell but resigned to return to the comforts of the peleton. Of course I was going for that first KOM, but also had reservations about attacking my mate. I ran false tempo, but the breakees were inevitably groupo compacto'ed. I knew correctly faking it when someone accused me of chasing the break, which I was happy to let them think that I was so stupidly doing. Some fitter folks called the bluff and picked up the pace. After catching the break my next mission was to cover all the puny attacks that were to follow.Coming into the second and final lap all I could think about was my Coke in the feed zone. As we approached I rode up to Best Young Rider and War on Drugs veteran James Dayo. My instructions were to block the road from all attacks coming into the feed. Just as we were conspiring there was an attack and surge. Enraged, I raced to the front to kill the momentum. As I was about to give the instigator a piece of my sugar deprived mind I noticed it was friend of the team Eric Hess riding for Austin Bikes. I told him what a dick he was and he apologized saying he didn't know about the feed zone. Oh, I dropped my Coke anyway.

No hard feelings Eric. Your one of the good ones.

Near the red kite I was up front and feeling great. I should have attacked out of the last low water crossing and rammed it into the final k, 'cause that's the way I like it baby I don't wanna live forever. Instead I ended up to early in the sprint on the wrong side of the road . There was an official standing up the road in front of me waving a yellow flag, so I drifted back to find a hole. He looked as if he were preparing to body check me if I did not comply. Noncompliance would have disqualified Patricio's 4th also. Which, by the way, he almost disqualified himself for by littering, but he was only handing out autographed pictures of his win at Ft. Davis, Which he is now famous throughout the hill country for.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

I arrive at Ft. Davis,prepared for battle by altitude training on the moon, (It has more vegetation and atmosphere than you may think. Those fake moon landing photographs you may have seen look nothing like the real thing.) and doing lactate intervals while holding my breath.

This is where an Apache might have spied on the soldiers moments before cutting their throats.

Desert flower

Me,Patricio, and Kemot enjoy intimate moments, recovering from the hill climb. They are very sensual lovers and had many partners during the weekend.

Team co-captain, soigneur, and nutritionist Juan Cool prepared sweet potatoes and popcorn-scorpions the eve before Patricio would ride to sweet victory.I won 16th out of about 50, for what it's worth.